Image forming apparatus calculating power consumption amount

Abstract

An image forming apparatus includes a first power calculator for calculating a power consumption amount of a driving load unit and a post-processing device based on at least one of measured values of a voltage and a current, which are supplied to the driving load unit and the post-processing device; second and third power calculators for calculating power consumption amounts of a fixing heater driving unit and a controller based on an operating state and an operating time of the image forming apparatus; and a power summing-up unit for calculating a power consumption amount of the image forming apparatus by summing up the power consumption amount calculated by the first power calculator and the power consumption amount predicted by each of the second and third power calculators.

Description

[0001]This application is based on Japanese Patent Applications No. 2011-222404 and No. 2011-222536 filed with the Japan Patent Office on Oct. 7, 2011, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]1. Field of the Invention[0003]The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, more particularly to image forming apparatuses, such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, and a printer.[0004]2. Description of the Related Art[0005]Examples of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus include an MFP (Multi Function Peripheral) having a scanner function, a facsimile function, a copying function, a function as a printer, a data communication function, and a server function, a facsimile machine, a copying machine, and the printer.[0006]A demand for reduction of power consumption amount of the image forming apparatus including the MFP is increasing with an increasing worldwide interest in an environment, an increasing en...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention aims to provide an image forming apparatus that can accurately determine the amount of power consumed by the apparatus. Additionally, the invention seeks to minimize the complexity of the apparatus's configuration.

Problems solved by technology

However, there has not yet been a technology of accurately measuring or calculating the power consumption amount of the image forming apparatus.

Accordingly, a little value is placed on accuracy of the displayed power consumption amount, and there are few efforts for improving the accuracy of the power consumption amount.

Additionally, the further improvement is performed to the facility in which the target emission reduction amount is not achieved.

However, in the technologies disclosed in Document 1, unfortunately the power consumption amount obtained by the calculation has the low accuracy.

For example, during the copy, the power consumption depends heavily on a copy mode.

Accordingly, the number of parameters, such as the fixed values A, B, and C, which are necessary to calculate the power consumption amount, increase, and impractically a large amount of work and design man-hour are required to fix the many parameters in order to enhance the accuracy of the power consumption amount.

Additionally, the variation in power consumption associated with aging of the image forming apparatus is serious.

Accordingly, even if the printing is performed in the same operating mode, the current state of the load changes from the state of the load half a year ago or a year ago, and the power consumption also changes.

Therefore, the variation in power consumption associated with the aging of the image forming apparatus cannot be evaluated, even if the fixed value is set according to the usage method (the printing setting) of the image forming apparatus like Document 1.

Sometimes launching of the image forming apparatus is delayed as it takes to much time for the correction work.

In the technology disclosed in Document 2, when the power consumption of each load of the image forming apparatus is measured, it is necessary to provide the watt-hour meter in each load according to magnitude of the power consumption of each load, which results in a problem in that complication of the apparatus is caused.

In the case that the operating state of the image forming apparatus is standby, the image forming apparatus continuously consumes the power of tens of watts in a control circuit and the like.

In the case that the operating state of the image forming apparatus is in power saving modes, such as the sleep mode, the image forming apparatus continuously consumes the small power of several watts for a long time in the control circuit and the like.

For example, when the wide range of power consumption is accurately measured by a power consumption measuring circuit inserted on the primary side, it is necessary that the power consumption measuring circuit have performance equivalent to a general-purpose measuring instrument, which results in a problem in that the configuration of the image forming apparatus becomes complicated and expensive.

In the case that the power consumption measuring circuit is inserted on the primary side, it is necessary that a detection circuit in the power consumption measuring circuit and a portion in which a detection result is displayed be electrically insulated, which results in the problem in that the configuration of the image forming apparatus becomes complicated and expensive.

Specifically, in the case that the power consumption amount is calculated based on a value, which is obtained by performing the AD (analog-digital) conversion of the primary-side current, because of the large variation in measured current, the high measurement accuracy of the current is hardly obtained in the inexpensive 10-bit AD converter.

However, the degradation of the measurement accuracy of the power consumption amount due to the wide of measured power range is not considered in the technologies disclosed in Documents 3 and 4.

For example, in the low-temperature environment, the power consumption increases due to the hardening of the grease in the motor.

Because of the aging of each component of the image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus in the new state differs from the image forming apparatus after a long period of use in the toad torque, and the power consumption varies.

Therefore, the power consumption of the high-voltage power supply is not kept constant.

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